Yes Spencer, There is a Santa Claus
by mabelreid
Summary: Reid makes the mistake of saying there's no such thing as Santa Claus at JJ's Christmas party. Takes place this season.
1. Naughty or Nice

**_Disclaimer: See my profile_**

**_A/n here's a bit of whimsical Christmas fun for you. Hope you enjoy it. _**

**_Naughty or Nice_**

"So what are you guys doing tomorrow?" Garcia asked JJ as she cuddled Henry on her lap.

"We're going ice skating in the afternoon if the weather's good. You know that new outdoor place in Alexandria?" JJ said, her large eyes sparkling happily.

"Oh… That's sounds like so much fun." Garcia sighed wistfully as Henry looked at a small book full of pictures of animals that was supposed to teach numbers.

"Jennifer thinks three is too little for Henry to go on skates, but I promised her I'd hang on to him." Will said, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.

JJ glared at him, only half seriously. "I just said that three years old is a little young for skating but if you wanted to be there to catch him, I'd buy the skates."

"Actually, skating is very good exercise." Reid inserted as the rest of the team rolled their eyes. "The problem of childhood obesity in the United States is a growing every year, so it's very important that Henry get exercise every day."

"Oh, he gets exercise every day," Will answered, as the others laughed. "He runs me into the ground."

JJ nodded. "Will is amazing. That little boy has more energy than the… Well, than the Energizer Bunny."

Henry held out his book to his dad as they laughed again. Will took the book and replaced it with Henry's favorite toy, a stuffed dinosaur given to him by his God Father on his last birthday.

"Now that was a meal to be remembered." Rossi said, as he finished off the last of his dinner roll.

"Yeah… Thanks for inviting us over JJ." Garcia said as Henry said "Mama…"

JJ took the little boy from Garcia. Reid smiled at the little boy, not noticing how JJ and Emily smirked at each other behind his back.

"Yes… Thank you very much for the wonderful meal Hotch said. "Thank you…" Jack said over a mouthful of his mashed potatoes.

"It makes missing my mama's ham worthwhile." Morgan said with a faraway look in his eyes. "It's too bad that last case kept us all away until tonight."

"I thought that might happen," JJ admitted. "So, Will suggested this get together."

"It's better than being alone." Reid blurted out then went pink. "Thanks JJ."

"I'm glad that Henry gets to spend Christmas with his God parents this year."

Reid looked around the table, full of the debris of a good meal, and the tall tree in the corner of the living room. He loved the open plan of JJ's house. It was homier he thought. It made Christmas seem more like a family holiday than just a day to get through.

"Happy Christmas Eve," Will raised his glass of eggnog.

The others responded in kind, holding up their glasses. Henry looked up and laughed. He said, "Santa…" very excitedly.

"Yes baby boy, Santa is coming tonight." Henry clapped his hands enthusiastically and climbed down from his father's lap to toddle to the tree.

"Daddy, can I go with Henry." Jack said.

"Yes… Be careful with Aunt JJ's tree." Hotch admonished the little boy.

"I will Daddy." Jack jumped down and ran to the living room.

Reid watched the two boys together, and wished for the first time in a long time that he'd had a little brother or sister to share Christmas.

"What are you thinking?" JJ touched his shoulder.

"I'm just thinking that it will be sad when Henry finds out that Santa isn't real." He said as Jack and Henry played.

JJ looked at the other end of the table where Jack sat talking to his daddy. "A little louder Reid, I don't think Henry and Jack heard you." She snapped.

"Yeah… Are you trying to upset the kids?" Emily agreed irritably.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset anyone." Reid said, his face going very red.

"Its fine," Hotch broke in before JJ could say anything. "Let's talk about something else."

"Come on…" Emily said desperately to Garcia and Reid. "Let's get this mess cleaned up."

"Why do I have to?" Reid said.

Emily smacked him on the shoulder. "Why do you think?" She stared him down.

Reid opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by JJ who was getting up from the table. "It's okay Emily…"

"No it's not; you guys did the hard part, so we're cleaning up." She glared at Reid, Morgan and then at Rossi.

"The lady is right," Rossi stood up. "The faster we get to it, the quicker we can have coffee and pie."

CMCMCMCM

"You see…." Harold said. "He should be moved to the naughty list.

"Harold… It's Christmas Eve. The big guy won't take kindly to your shifting Dr. Spencer Reid to the naughty list." Jared reminded the older elf.

Harold harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest. "He said Santa Claus isn't real with little children in the room. You know very well that Section 7, Paragraph eleven of the rulebook says, "If an adult, or child denies out loud the existence of Santa within the hearing of a believing child, he or she shall be moved to the naughty list for a period of not less than five years." He quoted in his high-pitched pompous voice.

"The rule book is archaic. The boss believes in the spirit of the law not the letter. Who wrote that rule book anyway?" Mabel asked shaking her golden brown curls.

"My great, great, great, uncle on my mother's side wrote the book at the boss' request."

"The boss threw out the book centuries ago," said Santa Claus from the door to the big conference room. "The rule book was meant to be a guide not an iron fist."

The elves, nearing the end of their double-checking the naughty and nice lists all straightened to attention as Santa took his huge, carved oak chair at the head of the long table. His kind blue eyes, the color of sapphires, twinkled at them.

"We have to get under way in less than six hours." Santa reminded them. "I need that list finished in two hours or we won't be ready for takeoff on schedule."

The elves turned to stare at Harold who addressed his boss directly.

"Sir, Dr. Spencer Reid said in the hearing of two children, that you're not real."

"I'm aware of what happened." Santa said, his eyes going grave and sad. "You know that Dr. Reid lost his belief in me when he was a very small child. His great intellect overcame the child-like innocence that's within all human beings. He is to be pitied not punished."

The elves nodded gravely, the bells on their red caps ringing merrily. "I still think he should be on the naughty list." Harold argued bravely.

Santa chuckled. "Ho ho ho… Harold, if we moved everyone to the naughty list on your say so, I'd only have coal to deliver and you all would be out of jobs."

The other elves glared at Harold. He met all of their stares forthrightly. "Intellect is no excuse for ruining the magic of Christmas." He insisted.

The elves began to argue rather loudly. Santa let it go on for a few moments then he held up his hands. "My friends… Harold does have a point."

"But Santa -" Holly interrupted, her red hair bouncing indignantly on her shoulders.

Santa held up one finger, his smile wide on his white bearded face. "Perhaps it's time for an intervention." He said.

The others stared around in shock. "Santa?" They all questioned as one, except for Harold who looked very smug.

"Yes," Santa said. "I will intervene in this case."

"But Santa, you haven't intervened in centuries. What makes this Dr. Spencer Reid so special?" Jared asked.

"He has suffered much in his life. He is a good and kind soul that loves his godson and Jack Hotchner. He's a good friend, son and FBI agent. He's saved many lives without regard for his own life. He deserves my intervention." Santa said.

The elves nodded. They all adored Santa and knew him to be a very wise man. They would defer to his judgment.

Santa inclined his head to Harold. "Make the necessary arrangements." He ordered. "We've got less than six hours to go."

CMCMCMCM

Reid arrived home a little after eight in the evening. He put the wrapped presents he'd received from all the team, Henry and Jack under the tree Emily, Garcia and JJ had insisted on setting up for him. The others had tried to get him to open the gifts at Will and JJ's home, but he'd insisted on taking them home so he'd have something to open the next morning.

He flicked on the Christmas lights and the radio after making a cup of coffee. He liked sitting in front of the tree looking at the lights blinking on and off, listening to Christmas music. It was relaxing to count the blinks. Now, he was in the middle of figuring out an equation to predict how many times the lights would blink on and off if, he left the lights on all day on Christmas.

He didn't notice for a few minutes that the room had suddenly got very silent around him. The lights on his tree going out finally got his attention.

"What the -"

A small figure appeared right in front of him with a pop like the cork of a champagne bottle. "Dr. Spencer Reid," The squeaky voice stated.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Harold, elf and personal assistant to Chris Cringle."

Reid laughed despite the fact that a man about three feet tall, dressed in a fur lined green suit and cap, stood in the middle of his living room.

"Did Morgan put you up to this?" He said, forgetting that his door was locked, he lived on the fourth floor and he had a state of the art security system.

"No… I'm here to offer you a once in a millennium opportunity." The supposed elf said.

"Look, I'm going to call -"

The elf snapped his fingers and Reid couldn't move. It was as if his body was trussed up in some kind of invisible plastic wrap, but he could breathe and think.

"Calling your team or the police won't be necessary. You see, Santa Claus would like for you to accompany me to the North Pole."

Reid would've lifted his eyebrows had he been able to move. As it was he just stared at the little man standing between him and the Christmas tree.

"Don't worry… The trip will be short."

He snapped his fingers again and Reid was pulled into spinning golden lights as his living room vanished around him.


	2. Santa's Workshop

**_Disclaimer: see my profile_**

**_A/n hello all... Here's the next chapter. Please enjoy and thank you for your kind comments._**

**_Santa's Workshop _**

When the world resolved into solid color and sound, Reid lurched forward as though he occupied the front seat of a rollercoaster car beginning its descent up that first steep hill. He stumbled two steps and nearly pitched headlong into a very wide conveyor belt that moved colorfully wrapped Christmas presents out of sight.

"Not that way…" That same officious voice from his apartment said.

He looked around to see that the little midget - person, dwarf, elf or whatever - standing there staring at him like he should know his way around.

"Where are we?" He demanded in his best Supervisory Special Agent voice.

"Come along… I don't have all night. We must launch in - he pulled a watch from his coat pocket - exactly five hours and nine minutes." The tiny man started off in the opposite direction as several other little people - Reid refused to call them elves - weaved in and out around him.

They didn't seem to notice him standing there. For his part, he was beginning to feel very self-conscious and tall!

"I'm not moving until you tell me where I am." Reid planted his feet as one little person with a black beard veered around him. A stack of gifts nearly as tall as Reid floated along in front of him. Wait! How could the stack be floating? He looked back at the little man and saw that the stack was indeed floating. He shook his head like he'd been swimming for too long and looked back at his tiny kidnapper.

"Why are you standing there gaping like a startled fish?" Harold snipped.

Reid realized that his mouth was hanging open. He shut it with a snap and turned on the little man. "I told you I'm not moving until you tell me where we are."

"I should think it's obvious. I thought you were some kind of genius. We're in Santa's workshop." He swept his arms wide and with something like the pride of a parent of an obedient child.

Reid craned his head around, finally realizing that he stood in the middle of the biggest room or warehouse, or factory he'd ever seen. In fact, he couldn't see where the room began or ended, it was so enormous. It was filled with activity and color. There were Christmas trees, decorated in red, gold and white at different points along the path.

He also noticed that all the little people, while hurried in their tasks, seemed very happy. He could hear music and hundreds of voices raised in song. It should have been cacophony, but somehow all their voices blended into the most joyous melody he'd heard outside a church choir.

He looked up, but couldn't see the ceiling over his head. The building seemed to be as tall as it was wide and went on forever, even though he knew that was impossible.

_All of this is impossible. Are you just noticing that!_

He noticed that his feet were following his kidnapper along a busy corridor. He stopped and the elf turned as though he had eyes in the back of his head. "Stop dawdling young man. Santa is a very busy man. If he's going to make his deadline then we must hurry."

"I don't believe any of this. It's some kind of trick." Reid said. "Logic dictates that Santa can't possibly -"

Harold glared up at Reid, his stare more intimidating than Hotch's best glower. An icy shiver raced up Reid's back. "You're here," Harold began icily," because you don't believe. Santa thinks you're worthy of a rare intervention. Personally, I think I should send you back where you came from right now so I can get my schedule back on track."

"Fine, send me back," Reid, agreed.

His temper was beginning to spark just a little. How dare this little man, or elf, or whatever he was, presume to judge him.

Another little person bumped into him as she moved past him trying to dodge others as they worked. "Oh excuse me I didn't -" She stopped her eyes widening at Reid.

Her eyes, as blue as JJ's, twinkled merrily at him. The red Santa cap on her head bobbed as she greeted him, her blond curls bounced on her shoulders.

"Who is this?" She asked Harold who scowled at her enthusiasm. "He's cute for a human." Her voice rang like bells as she spoke.

"Really Lisle, I don't have time for -"

The tiny elf - Reid decided just to call them by that name to save time - reached up for one of his hands. She stood about six inches shorter the Harold. "I like 'em tall and skinny," she gushed, winking one of her big eyes at him.

"Santa is expecting us and you have duties to get to." Harold snapped. "Get out of our way and get back to work."

"Shut up Harry… I'm on a break." She hissed back.

Reid tried to pull his hand away from her but like Harold, she was stronger than she looked.

"You got time for a glass of eggnog, sweetie." She fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"That's enough Lisle." Harold shouted over the music and the conversation of elves that worked and ignored them.

Lisle let go of Reid and turned on Harold. "For someone that works at the North Pole your sense of fun is sadly lacking."

She turned her attention back to Reid. "If you change your mind, just say my name." She flounced off, leaving him there staring at her.

"May we please get on with the reason you're here." Harold hissed through gritted teeth. His pointed ears seemed to flutter indignantly and independently of their master.

"I didn't ask for an 'intervention' from anyone." Reid snapped irritably. "I don't need. -"

"Come along." This time the elf grabbed his hand and pulled him forward. Reid had to go with him or risk losing his arm. "Santa is waiting for you."

He pulled Reid onto a moving track that looked like something in an airport. They whooshed along so fast that all the blurred colors made Reid's stomach heave. Then they stopped and Harold pulled him off the moving belt. Reid's head spun and he tottered like a child trying out his first steps. Harold didn't let him stop to get his breath. He pulled him along a rapidly emptying corridor until they came to a large oak door with a nameplate that said "St. Nicholas," on it.

Harold glared at him with a look that clearly said, "Behave or you're in big trouble. Harold knocked and waited.

"Come in…" A booming and jolly voice called out to them.

Another chill worked its way down Reid's spine at the sound of the voice, but it wasn't unpleasant this time.

Harold stood aside and gestured that Reid should precede him into the office. The room resembled an old-fashioned study in a Victorian mansion. In one corner, stood a Christmas tree that Reid thought must be at least fifteen feet tall, stood decorated with golden ornaments and real candles. The icicles hanging from the branches looked real to him despite the roaring fire right next to it.

"Hello Spencer," boomed the voice.

To Reid's right sat a man with a full head of white hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. His dark blue eyes twinkled behind rectangle shaped, gold framed glasses.

"Who are you?" Reid asked firmly. "I don't like being kidnapped."

"I haven't kidnapped you." The man said. "I've just invited you to see things from a new perspective."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Reid insisted because none of this could be real. It had to be some kind of an elaborate hoax or a dream.

"This isn't a dream or a hoax." The man said. "Please sit down and I'll explain."

Reid looked around as if for help, but only the old man and Harold were in the room. He sighed and took a seat in a red, wing back chair across from the man. He refused to call him Santa Claus.

Santa Claus sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers under his chin. "You're here because you're a special case, someone that I feel can benefit from knowing the truth about me."

"I don't understand." Reid said. "What do you want from me? I'm not working on any hot case. I don't have anything you want."

Santa Claus chuckled. "I don't want anything from you my young friend except that you believe in me and pass it on to Henry and Jack."

"You can't be Santa Claus because everyone knows you don't exist." Reid insisted.

Santa became grave, his eyes sober and sad. "Children believe in me, at least for a little while and then they grow up and lose their innocence. You lost your innocence much sooner than you should have Spencer. For that I'm so sorry."

"I don't know you -" Reid started again.

"I know you don't trust people you've just met. A wise precaution, but as you'll soon see, I know you better than you know yourself."

"I'm not going to tell you anything." Reid said.

"I don't want you to tell me anything you don't want to share." Santa responded as the fire crackled.

Reid stared around the room lit with low golden light that seemed to glow from every corner of the room. The polished hardwood floors showed his reflection and he noticed that Harold was gone. He also noticed another door with a brass doorknob at the other end of the room.

He jumped from his seat, hurried across the room and yanked open the door. It was a closet full of red suits,

"I'm only trying to help you Spencer." Santa said.

Reid returned to his seat. "You won't let me go." He said.

"Yes… You can leave whenever you want." Santa gestured to another door next to the Christmas tree that Reid hadn't noticed. "All you have to do is believe."

"Do I have to wear the silver slippers too?" Reid asked sarcastically.

"I see you've read "The Wizard of Oz," not just seen the movie like so many people. It's one of my favorites." Santa said.

"Yes… I read it when I was four."

"Then you know the power of magic and desire." Santa asked.

"I know magic is just illusion." Reid answered.

Santa sighed. "You're going to be a tough one, but I think I can convince you that I am real and why my existence is so important in this cynical world. Come with me." He stood up and moved to the door Reid had entered with Harold.

"Where are we going?" Reid asked, but his feeling of apprehension was slowly fading.

Chris Cringle laid a finger next to his nose. "Trust me, Dr. Reid."


	3. The Power of Magic

**_Disclaimer: see my profile_**

**_A/n hey all... Here's the next chapter. Please enjoy!_**

**_The Power of Magic_**

Santa opened the door and gestured for Reid to precede him. The hallway was empty of everyone, including Harold. Reid noticed as they moved down the hallway in the direction of the workshop, that other doors branched off the hallway. He hadn't noticed them when Harold had brought him there. Of course, he'd been very distracted so he hadn't seen them. They all had different descriptions like, The Toy Soldier room, or the Train Depot, and even the Electronics Extraordinaire. It was the last door before the hallway opened into the workshop that caught his attention and stopped him in his tracks. The sign on the door read simply in golden letters, "The Magic Shop."

He stared at the door for a long time - forgetting that Santa Claus, or a man claiming to be that mythical figure - was with him. He didn't notice that his companion had also stopped and was watching him with a smile and twinkling blue eyes.

"Spencer…" Santa touched his arm.

Warmth like Reid had never felt expanded from his arm to his shoulder, across his chest and up his neck to his scalp. It raised the hair on his head and on his arms, popping gooseflesh out on his back and down his legs.

"Why don't you go inside?" Santa encouraged the young profiler.

Reid's head snapped around, suspicion in his eyes. "Why?" He demanded.

"I think there's something in there you'll really like." Santa said holding out his arm toward the door.

Reid took a step toward the door then stopped. This man wanted him to go inside. That meant that he shouldn't go through that door.

_Your paranoia is reaching epidemic proportions. Why don't you profile him? If you think he's some kind of sick kidnapper with a Christmas fetish, confirm it with what you know._

He decided to take the advice of his inner voice for a change. He looked back at the man who was about his height, wearing a pair of red velvet pants, a white long sleeved sweater and black suspenders over his large belly. He certainly looked the part better than any store Santa.

Santa Claus didn't interrupt Reid's inspection of his person as though he knew this was something that Reid had to do. He stood quietly as the profiler looked him over very thoroughly.

"Alright… I'll admit that this situation is a little strange. You don't appear to be a threat to me, but I don't know if I believe that you are who you say, you are. I'm more inclined to think that Morgan or Emily's playing some kind of joke on me." Reid told St. Nick.

"This is a bit elaborate for a joke." Santa said patiently.

Reid looked around him. There was mistletoe and holly decorating the hallway with more Christmas trees looking very festive and full of Christmas spirit_. Could he believe that Morgan would go to all this trouble just for a joke?_

"Come… Time is getting short," Santa said. "You need to see what's behind that door.

CMCMCMCM

The room behind the door wasn't like anything Reid expected, but then all of this situation was out of the realm of his experience. He felt his mouth open in sheer surprise and delight at the sight in front of his eyes.

Packed into the room were tables and shelves full of top hats, magic wands and capes. Other shelves held boxes with colorful labels. He saw on the shelf right in front of him, a box he recognized. His heart jumped into his throat and throbbed so painfully he could hardly draw breath. His hands began to sweat as he reached out for the box. Then he stopped and turned back to St. Nick.

"You can't trick me." He said thickly. "I want you to take me home now."

"I know what you're thinking Spencer."

"Don't call me that. You don't know me. You're not my family." Reid shouted.

Santa withstood the verbal assault without speaking. "I'm sorry Dr. Reid." He said quietly. "I don't mean to upset you. I only wanted to prove to you that I am who I say I am."

"Why is it so important to you that I believe in you?" Reid asked letting his fingers touch the box.

_The box couldn't be real! _

"Because you lost your childlike innocence and belief when you were a very small child."

"Everyone has to grow up sometime." Reid replied bitterly.

He refused to look at this man or touch the box that couldn't be there. It had to be a joke. He was sure of it now, a cruel joke.

"True, but not at the age of four. No child should have to deal with what you did as a child. I just want to give some of that back to you. I had hoped that Henry would revive your belief in me and Christmas."

The sadness in St. Nicholas's voice made Reid lift his head from staring at the small square box on the shelf. Santa's large blue eyes sparkled with tears.

"My friend Garcia says everything happens for a reason." Reid's eyes went back to the box on the shelf.

"Ah yes… Penelope Garcia," Santa's eyes lit up again. "She is truly a unique and joyful soul. Somehow, she's managed to keep the true Spirit of Christmas in her heart all year round. She is a rarity in this cynical world."

Reid had to smile at the pride in the man's voice. "I don't know what we'd do without her." He said softly, unable to tear his eyes away from the box on the shelf and its familiar label.

"Do you believe everything happens for a reason?" Santa asked.

"I believe there's something more than just billions of people walking this planet alone without guidance. What that thing is I don't know. Some people call it God, Allah, the Great Spirit, the Goddess… I really don't know."

"Dr. Reid…" Santa indicated the room around them. "Children believe in the magic of Christmas… The magic that makes what I do possible exists because of the belief of little children. Without it, I would truly cease to exist."

"I don't understand." Reid said.

"I just mean that if we're not alone of this little planet, if you can have faith in that, why is it so hard to continue a tradition? I know that the adults of the world don't really believe in me as a being that exists in this world. I don't bring them all up here to prove it to them. In the end, it doesn't matter because the faith of children keeps me alive. What is so bad about that?"

Reid finally tore his eyes away from Santa and found that his logical brain couldn't come up with a single reason why it was so bad.

"I can't think of a single argument except that I still don't understand how you do it in one night. I mean, how can reindeer fly fast enough to make it around the world. They'd have to travel at several times the speed of sound and they're not aerodynamically correct. You wouldn't survive a trip like that." Reid said, finally stopping for breath.

Santa threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, ho ho ho ho… I can always count on you for a laugh Dr. Reid."

"You might as well call me Spencer." Reid said a little irritably.

Santa laughed again. "Why don't you look in that box? I know it's what you've been dying to see since the minute you walked through the door"

"You don't have to be some mind reading, super magical immortal being to get that."

Santa was now chuckling so hard he could hardly catch a breath at that point. "Like I said Spencer, you are a funny man."

"I'm not trying to be funny. I'm trying to understand you. Why don't you show yourself to the world? Why all the mystery?"

"Spencer… Let me ask you a question." He put one arm around Reid's shoulders and that same warm feeling of well being flooded Reid's body. He stopped thinking that there was harm meant by this extraordinary being.

"What?" Reid asked.

"What do you think would happen if you knew the answer to every question?"

"Morgan thinks I _do_ know the answer to every question."

Santa choked back a laugh. "Yes… Agent Derek Morgan, another interesting soul. Always ready to jump into trouble, and yet he has an enormous capacity for kindness he rarely shows."

"Then why haven't you brought him up here for an 'intervention,' Reid asked making quote marks with his fingers.

"Don't try to distract me. Answer the question." Santa prodded gently.

"I don't know the answer because it's impossible to know the answer to every question." Reid responded.

"Yet, you and the whole human race never stop looking for the answers. Why not just accept the fact that you can't know everything and relax. Your lives would be a lot less complicated."

"But -" Reid began to say, and then stopped. "I guess life would be pretty boring."

"I think it would be more than boring," Santa said gravely. "I think the human spirit would break under the weight of all that knowledge."

Reid slowly nodded his head. "It's okay to look though right." He asked, sounding like a little child.

"Of course young Spencer, there's nothing wrong with asking the big questions."

Reid finally reached out and took the box from the shelf. The label was so familiar that tears pricked in his eyes.

"I don't understand." He whispered. "How did you get this?"

"I'm Santa Claus dear boy. I happen to have an elf that specializes in retrieving lost toys. We recycle whenever we can up here, but when Pierre brought that to me, I know I had to keep it."

"But I threw this out…" Reid stopped; he put the box back on the shelf. "I don't want to see it."

"You threw it out when you were ten years old. It was the day your father left. I'm sorry you had to go through that Spencer."

"I want to go home now." Reid stuttered. "I'm not a prisoner. Am I?" He faced Santa with a blotchy red face.

"No… You're not a prisoner." Santa said. "I'd like to ask you a favor before I send you home Will you accompany me this night? I have a special job for you that I think you'll like."

There was something in Santa's eyes that lifted the hurt from Reid's heart. He nodded his head in agreement.

"Good… I promise you won't be sorry." He snapped his finger as Harold had in Reid's apartment.

This time the disorienting journey was over much faster. He stumbled again in front of a very large red metal door that looked like the door to a warehouse loading dock.

"Where are we?" His curiosity overcame his desire to leave.

Santa pressed a black button at the top of a strip of similar buttons to the left of the huge door. "Trust me Spencer… You're about to have some of your questions answered."


	4. Santa's Sleigh

**_Disclaimer: see my profile_**

**_A/n hey all... Here's the next chapter. Thank you all for your feedback and encouragement. Hope you enjoy. _**

**_Santa's Sleigh_**

The red door rolled up like a garage door when Santa pressed the button. Reid noticed that the metal clattered, but not like some garage doors he'd heard. It ran very smoothly and slowly revealed another huge room that resembled an airplane hangar.

Santa gestured for him to enter first and he did because his curiosity was getting the best of him. He looked around at dozens of elves hurrying back and forth to more conveyor belts. They didn't move the brightly wrapped gifts from the belt; instead they seemed to be checking tags against lists on clipboards. He saw that when an elf turned a page it just disappeared.

"It's an automatic filing system we set up three centuries ago." Santa said.

Reid's jaw was beginning to ache from constantly gaping at each new impossibility. Granted, it would make record keeping easier. Hotch would love it and so would Strauss.

"It's impossible for things to disappear and reappear from one place to another. You'd need a powerful device that could rearrange the molecules of an object, by taking them apart and putting them together with perfect precision. It's like something out of Star Trek. Now, I grant you that the physics of Star Trek are mostly correct, but the assumption that you can take an object or a living creature and morph them for one place to another in the blink of an eye just can't be done."

Reid paused for breath, a little surprised that Santa hadn't interrupted his tirade.

"Not everyone is annoyed by your statistics and tangents." Santa answered another unspoken question. _How did he do that? _"I find them informative and interesting."

"You talk like a stalker." Reid said sensibly.

"I'm not giving up on trying to convince you that magic is real." Santa declared.

"Sir…" Another tiny elf with midnight black eyes and hair broke into the conversation. "I'm sorry to interrupt you." The squeaky voice didn't betray the gender of the elf, but Reid decided that the tiny being was male because of a slight beard on his chin.

"What is it Ivan?"

"We're almost finished with loading."

"Any problems?" Santa asked.

"We had a breakdown on belt 562. Sherman fixed it in no time." Ivan said, ignoring Reid as though he wasn't there.

"Very good… When you're all finished, please gather in the staff room. Mary has a surprise for all of you." Santa instructed.

"Thank you sir." The elf bowed and hurried away so quickly that Reid lost him in the shuffle of elves working around them.

"Now… It appears that we're just in time for the final loading and launch. Follow me please." He led Reid around three conveyor belts to the other end of the enormous room. Again, it seemed like they moved from one place to another in the blink of an eye.

"What do you think?" Santa asked, his eyes twinkling merrily.

Reid felt his mouth drop open again. In front of him stood the oddest looking machine he'd ever seen. It was shaped like an old fashioned horse sleigh, but it was huge, larger than the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III he'd once seen at a military air show in DC.

"If you don't breathe you'll pass out." Santa reminded him with a deep throaty laugh.

"I- um… I don't… You can't land this… Oh my…" For the very first time he couldn't think of any statistics to quote or tangent to go off on. It was just too much to take in.

Not only was the 'sleigh' huge, it was painted candy apple red and the back had orange flames painted, racking back to indicate speed.

"It's powered by magic which is generated by the belief of children." Santa said.

"But, all the stories say you land of houses and go down chimneys. You can't land something this big on a roof. You'd flatten any home not reinforced like a fallout shelter. How do you take off and land? The aerodynamics is all wrong. It's way too big to maneuver in the precise way you'd need to land on the pitched roof of a house."

Santa listened to Reid go on without interrupting till Reid ran out of breath.

"Young Dr. Reid, I'd like to explain it all to you, but it's better if you see for yourself."

Reid stared, feeling his heart leap into his chest and his hands sweat. He couldn't just get into a huge sleigh. What if it wasn't safe? What if all of this was some kind of joke?

"You still don't believe me do you?" Santa said.

Remarkably, he didn't sound put out or impatient. He just smiled at Reid as though he had the best secret in the world and was dying to share it.

"Okay…" Reid decided.

Morgan always said he thought too much about everything. Santa said he needed to just believe. Garcia said everything happened for a reason and even Rossi had faith. Hotch kept going even after losing Haley and he still believed in making a difference even if it was painful. JJ had called them family and families believed in each other didn't they?

"I'll go with you." He said.

"I'd say that's the smartest thing you've said in the last few hours."

Reid wanted to be offended, but coming from Santa in his kind voice, it wasn't insulting, but more toward the truth.

"I guess I deserved that."

Santa laughed again. "Come with me. It's tradition for me to supervise the last of the gifts loading on the sleigh and then we'll get under way."

"Nicholas…" A voice snapped out behind them.

"Oh dear… I've forgotten something important." Santa said.

Reid turned with Santa to see a woman, his and Santa's height bustling toward them. Her white hair was twisted up on her head. Her blue eyes snapped rather than twinkled. She wore a red dress and white apron. She carried something in her hands as she approached them.

"You forgot your coat."

"Thank you Mary. What would I do without you?" He took the coat from her and slipped it on.

"You'd go out without your coat and catch a cold." She responded.

"Mary… I'm very busy. We have a visitor this year. I was showing him around."

Mary turned on Reid. Despite her scolding of Santa he liked her smile and her rosy cheeks. He was suddenly overcome with desire for a grandmother just like her. "Yes, I've heard about you Dr. Reid. I was hoping there would be time for cookies."

His mouth started watering, but Santa said. "We don't have time for coco and cookies. We have to leave in half an hour."

"I know," She said and pulled a large container from nowhere. Everyone could do some kind of real magic there he realized. "I put together some cookies for your trip. There's a thermos of hot chocolate in the sleigh."

Santa stepped forward and kissed Mary on the cheek. "You are the best wife a man could have."

Mary simply shook her head. "You drive me crazy."

"I know that, but after tonight we can relax for another year."

She answered by buttoning up his coat and patting him on the cheek. "You say that every year, and every year on the day after Christmas you start planning for the next year."

Santa threw back his head and laughed. "You know me better than I know myself wife."

She put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "I should know you after a couple thousand years together."

"You're a saint for putting up with me." Santa kissed her again, a peck on the lips.

She giggled like a school girl. "You old goat!"

Something leaped in Reid's chest and he blinked against sudden tears. If only his parents could've stayed together all these years and loved each other. He couldn't help but think what his life would've been like if his mother hadn't succumbed to her illness.

Santa patted him on the shoulder. The depths of his dark blue eyes held sympathy, but he didn't voice his thoughts this time.

"Don't worry," Mrs. Santa Claus directed to Reid. "It'll be alright." She kissed his cheek and more of the soothing warmth he felt from Santa flowed through his chest.

"Mary… He's a millennium younger than you." Santa teased.

She blushed. "Don't be jealous my love. Young Dr. Reid's heart belongs to someone else."

"What?" Reid blurted out a bit too loudly. "I don't have a girlfriend."

They both smirked at him like indulgent parents. "I don't understand," he blurted out again, wondering why he couldn't keep his thoughts and feelings to himself in this place.

"That's a secret you have to discover for yourself," Mrs. Claus told him and she bustled off before he could interrogate her."

"Sir…" He turned to Santa.

"Don't worry about Mary. She sees way too much sometimes. You'll figure it out on your own, as it should be. Now," he continued and Reid knew he wouldn't get more clues about his heart belonging to someone else. "We need to get going. The final toys are on their way into the sleigh and you need something more appropriate to wear."

"But -"

Santa snapped his fingers and Reid looked down to see that he wore a red suit. It looked identical to the suit Santa wore with white fur around the sleeves and a wide black belt. He even had a hat on his head. Still, he thought the outfit looked better on Santa Claus, as though he were born to wear it.

"Come on my young assistant. It's time for take off or we'll miss our window.

Reid suddenly realized that something was missing. He glanced around as Santa's attention turned to the last of the gifts being loaded on the huge sleigh. No one else seemed to be concerned that something was most definitely missing from this scene. He shuffled his feet and coughed lightly. Santa didn't react to his not so subtle attempts to get his attention until the belly of the huge sleigh shut and locked with a metallic clang.

"Um Santa…" Reid resisted the urge to tug on Santa's sleeve like a small child pulling on his mother's skirt.

"Yes young Reid," Santa said as all the elves hurried around him to perform other unseen tasks. "You wanted something?" Santa asked when Reid didn't speak.

"Yeah… Um, I was wondering. Where're the reindeer?"


	5. Around the World in Sixty Minutes

**_Disclaimer: see my profile_**

**_A/n hey all... Thank you all for your kind reviews and support. I'm so glad you've enjoyed the story so far. Here's the next chapter. A big shout out to my beta Reidfanatic for helping me with some great ideas for this chapter. _**

**_Around the World in Sixty Minutes _**

"The reindeer?" Santa repeated. For the first time since Reid had come to this strange and wonderful place, Santa seemed confused. "Oh…" His face lit up with mischief. "Well, the reindeer part of the legend isn't true I'm afraid."

"It's not?" Now Reid felt as confused as Santa had looked just moments ago. "But I thought you had eight tiny reindeer."

"No my boy… I need something much faster and more powerful than reindeer." Santa explained.

"I don't understand."

Santa began making his way to a door that looked like the entrance to a bulldozer Reid had seen at a job site during a case. "Come on young fella. It's easier to show than it is to explain."

He opened the door and climbed up four steps to what Reid could only describe as a cockpit. Reid stood there looking up at Santa. The last hours had nearly scrambled his brain with all the new information he'd been forced to accept. He could accept that Santa was real, but this huge sleigh… It couldn't possibly work.

"Spencer… I promise you'll like what you're about to see." Santa held out his hand.

Reid took the offered hand and climbed up into the sleigh. He shut the door behind him and it locked with a click.

When he turned back to see what Santa wanted to show him, he felt surprise wash over him. He thought he was done with surprise in this place, but he'd been very wrong.

The inside of the sleigh didn't look like the inside of any sleigh he'd ever seen. Once, at Christmas last year, Garcia had talked them all into going to a working farm outside of DC. They provided sleigh rides, storytelling, and hot cider the week before Christmas. He's loved the time spent out under the stars in the cold with his team.

This sleigh didn't resemble the sleigh on the farm at all except for the shape. For one thing, it was completely enclosed instead of exposed to the open air.

"Why don't you have a seat Spencer?" Santa broke into Reid's memory. He gestured to the bench style seat in front of a very odd control panel.

"I told you that my job is all about the true power of magic which is the belief of children." Santa commented.

Reid nodded his head, still staring at the control panel in front of them. There were many knobs and dials, but nothing like he'd seen in the cockpit of the BAU's jet for instance. How did Santa know the altitude or air speed? Where was the landing gear? What about radar? It didn't make any sense at all.

Santa pushed an unmarked red button directly in front of him. Reid expected the sound of jet engines but nothing happened.

"I don't understand." He glared at Santa feeling very disappointed at the silence.

"The Super Sleigh 2000 is completely silent. My designer elf Karl built this five years ago with stealth technology. We also have a hologram of reindeer if needed. Sometimes we let the sleigh be seen with the reindeer hologram, just to keep the mystery happening."

"But I thought it was all about magic," Reid argued, feeling a bit disappointed.

"It is," was all Santa would say to that comment. "Now let's get underway or we'll miss the window." Santa touched a black switch this time and Reid felt the sleigh move. It was like flying on the jet, but less jarring and without the loud noises of the engines.

Reid looked out the window to his left and felt his jaw drop again as they hovered in the hanger. He looked forward and saw a huge opening at the far end of the hanger. Black sky and stars greeted them as they moved forward so fast, he should have been thrown back in his seat, but somehow the physics of flight didn't apply.

They soared out the huge hanger doors and turned in an arc so tight, it should have tilted them onto the floor of the sleigh, but instead they stayed upright. The sleigh, headed back in the opposite direction over the workshop just hovered as though waiting for something.

"What are we waiting for?" Reid asked as more stars than he'd ever seen twinkled over them.

"The window opens in thirty seconds. Hang on!" Santa shouted joyfully.

"What window?" Reid demanded.

"You'll see…"

Seconds later the stars vanished in front of them. It was as thought something sucked them into a vortex. Only blackness surrounded them as Santa hit a combination of four switches in front of Reid.

Reid waited but nothing he could feel or see happened to the sleigh. "I don't understand." He said for what felt like the tenth time since he'd come to this strange and wonderful place.

"I use dimensional jumps to make all of my deliveries in one night." Santa said as though this news wasn't beyond the realm of believability.

Reid found himself staring at Santa as the large man punched another black button and sat back. "Don't worry young Reid. The sleigh knows the way better than I do."

"But -" Reid couldn't make his mouth say that all of this was impossible that the technology for time travel and dimensional jumps didn't exist except as exotic theory. The mathematical equations alone needed super computers to figure out the physics and -

"Stop trying to figure out how it all works Spencer." Santa said with a grin. "Just believe and enjoy. You're going to see what few others have ever experienced."

Reid looked out the window to the total blackness beyond. All of the light had been sucked out of the universe it seemed, but for some reason he didn't feel afraid. It was like he was on a trip in some unusual part of the world with a good friend. He trusted this man called Santa even though he didn't have a good, logical, reason to do so.

"Ah…" Santa seemed to sense some changes in their travel because he flipped three more black switches and suddenly the stars reappeared.

"Come on Spencer… We're at our first stop of the evening. We don't have much time, but it's tradition."

He moved past Reid to open the door. He left the sleigh with Reid following him into the cold night. He looked around surprised again at the lack of snow. Instead, his feet crunched in dirt and sand. The night's sky was clear, as it had been at the workshop, with stars like diamonds over their heads.

A soft wind caressed his face as he followed Santa around the sleigh to a hillside. He didn't ask Santa where they'd landed. He'd decided to just go with the strangeness of the night. They rounded another corner and Reid stopped dead. There was a group of people at the entrance to a cave at his right. They held candles and were singing what sounded like a familiar Christmas hymn, but he couldn't be sure because the language wasn't English.

"Don't worry Spencer. They can't hear or see us."

_Of course, they can't, _Reid thought.

"Where are we?" He asked as the music drifted through the air to them.

"In Bethlehem," Santa answered.

"We are?" Reid squeaked.

"Yes… You see, over two thousand years ago when Christ was born, three wise men came to see him."

"I know the story from the bible, but I don't understand what that has to do with you."

Santa smiled wistfully. "I was one of the wise men."

Reid laughed before he could stop himself. "I don't believe that."

Santa didn't seem offended by Reid's disbelief. "After we came here to see the Babe of Bethlehem we were visited by an angel. The angel offered us immortality as a reward for our faith. My friends and brothers turned the angel down. They didn't have family and they weren't interested in living forever. I accepted because I wanted to serve the Christ child, the Savior of the World. The angel granted my wish and gave me the powers I have, only predicated that I must live as a legend and a myth so that children would believe in the Spirit of Christmas. I never intended for my life to become so commercialized. I am who I am because of the Son of God. I try to instill in everyone unselfishness and service to others."

Reid nodded as he watched the people at the cave leave their candles glowing and fluttering in the breeze at the entrance to the cave.

"In the days of Christ, caves were often used as stables. This is believed by the faithful all over the world as the cave where Jesus was born."

"Is it?" Reid asked intently curious and ready to believe anything.

"Yes… This is the cave. Come… We need to get going."

They headed back to the sleigh and took off into another lightless vortex. "Why did you go there?" Reid asked.

"It's the first thing I do before I begin my deliveries. It's my way of paying respect and saying thank you."

"So you'll never die." Reid asked.

"Not until the Son of Man returns. Then, I'll no longer be needed."

Reid though that over and decided he didn't like the idea of no Santa.

"It's alright my young friend. We all have to move on to the next plane of existence at some point."

"I'm glad I got to meet you." Reid said honestly.

"I too am glad to see you my young friend. You have the qualities I value, compassion, self sacrifice and the ability to love truly."

"I don't love anyone." Reid squeaked, feeling his face go red.

"I mean true love," Santa said. "Greater love hath no man than he who giveth his life for another."

"I've never done that." Reid argued.

"No, but you would for your friends or stranger without thinking about it. It's within you. It's why I chose you for an intervention."

Reid decided that he couldn't look Santa in the face. He decided to focus on the blackness outside the window instead.

"As for the other kind of love…" Santa went on with a laugh in his voice. "My Mary is right; your heart is spoken for. Don't worry she'll notice you soon."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Reid squeaked.

"All things in time young Reid," Santa chuckled as they suddenly entered the star filled night sky again.

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Reid knew that this night had lasted longer than any night in his life, but he felt completely refreshed and alive when Santa said they had reached the last house to visit. It was as though he'd only spent a few minutes helping Santa leave gifts and fill stockings.

He left the sleigh with that last gifts following Santa into the house by way of the chimney. Santa used some kind of magic so they could fit down the chimney. If they encountered a fire, it didn't hurt them or leave ash and smoke in their clothes. He'd stopped trying to figure out how it all worked and found that he enjoyed the trip much more for just believing in the impossible.

When they exited the fireplace, Reid looked around in surprise. He knew this house very well. It was JJ and Will's house.

"I thought you'd like to do the honors for little Henry's stocking." Santa asked.

Tears collected in the corners of his eyes. He'd almost ruined Henry and Jack's childlike faith in a kindly being that existed only to serve.

"Don't feel bad Spencer. Jack and Henry haven't lost their belief in me yet. Here…" Santa gave Reid Henry's gifts. "My time with you is nearly at an end."

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Harold waited for them when they arrived back at Santa's workshop. He tapped his foot impatiently as Reid climbed down from the sleigh for the last time.

"It's nearly 1 am. I have to get you back home before the clock strikes."

Reid wanted to be surprised that less than an hour had passed since they'd left, but he was too overwhelmed.

"Yes, Harold is right. It is time for you to go home."

"I don't want to leave." Reid found himself saying.

Santa smiled. "I'll miss you too my young friend, but I have something for you that will help you remember me when you leave this place."

Santa handed him a box he'd once again pulled out of thin air. "It's time this was returned to you. Goodbye my young friend. Remember the true meaning of Christmas and pass it along."

He gave the box to Reid and touched his hand. Reid was sucked away alone into golden light clutching the long forgotten box in his hands and wondering if it would all turn out to be a dream.


	6. The Miracles of Christmas

**_Disclaimer: see my profile_**

**_A/n hey all... Thank you all for your great support, and thanks for my beta for all of her help. You're all the best. Here's the last chapter kiddies. _**

**_The Miracles of Christmas _**

When Reid opened his eyes the next morning, it was to bright sunlight streaming in through the windows. He groaned, squinted and turned over nearly falling off the couch.

"Damn…" He said to the empty living room.

He hadn't fallen asleep on the couch since the nights he'd avoided going to bed and having nightmares. The dreams still happened, but not with the frequency and power, they'd once had.

He sat up, rubbing his face with both hands. The clock on the DVR said it was just after eight in the morning. He yawned and his eyes drifted to the Christmas tree in the corner. The lights were still on and twinkling.

The rest of the night came flooding back as he watched the lights blink.

_It was a dream. Stop thinking about it._

If it had been a dream, it was the most vivid dream he'd ever had.

He stood up and stretched. He needed coffee and a shower. He needed to get it together and stop thinking about last night.

_It wasn't a dream and you know it._

He hated how the voice in his head argued with him.

He looked back at the tree and noticed that a square box had joined other gifts under the branches. He blinked, looked up at the window and the sunlight. His curiosity got the better of him and he glanced back at the box under the tree. It wasn't wrapped, and he could see as he stepped closer to the tree, that he recognized the box.

It couldn't be though, because the night before was a dream.

_Are you sure?_

He bent and retrieved the box. It felt real in his hands. It filled his eyes with tears. All of what happened during the night wasn't a dream. Stuff didn't just pop out of dreams and become real. He knew that for sure. So the only logical thing left was that what he thought was dream, wasn't a dream.

He took the top off the box and saw the first magic kit he'd ever owned as a child. His father had bought it for him when he was four years old. He fingered the old magic wand with its white tip as tears dropped down onto the trick deck of cards.

"Thank you daddy." He could hear his voice as though it had somehow crossed time to echo in his ear.

"_I love you Spencer." _His father had responded on that long ago day.

Reid took out the cards and they looked as new as they had the first time he'd opened the box. He pulled out the collapsible top hat, flicked his wrist and it popped upright. He put in on his head. It didn't fit because he wasn't a child anymore, but he didn't care.

Everything that happened in the night was true. He knew for sure that Santa was real. He looked back down at the box and then at the clock. It would be just after five in Nevada. It was too early to call his dad. Wait, did he just think that he wanted to talk to William Reid? Yes… He did want to talk to his dad. The sudden overwhelming urge to call his father had his heart racing.

His phone rang as he pulled the rest of the magic tricks out of the box. "Hello…" He squeaked.

"_Spencer," _his father's voice drifted over the line.

"Dad?"

"_I hope you don't mind. I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I had this overwhelming urge to call you." _

Reid swallowed back on his pounding heart and the tears that wanted to spill over the rims of his eyes. "I was just thinking of calling you dad, but I thought it was too early."

"_I just wanted to see how you're doing." _William asked.

"I'm fine dad. We have the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve off. I was thinking of trying to come out there for a couple of days. Do you think we can get together?"

"_I'd love to see you Spencer." _

"It depends on if I can get a flight. I didn't plan on it. I just want to see you and mom." Reid said.

"_I'll pay for the flight." _William said.

"I can't let -"

"_Yes you can and you will. I'll call the airlines tomorrow." _

His, 'don't argue with me,' tone made Reid agree. "Alright dad… I'll talk to you tomorrow. Merry Christmas."

"_Merry Christmas to you too, Spencer." _

Reid shut his phone and looked back at the magic kit. One day, he'd give it to Henry, and tell him about Santa and the true meaning of magic and Christmas.

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He'd just finished dressing when someone rang his doorbell. He looked at the door in confusion. He wasn't expecting anything. He was supposed to go to JJ's that afternoon for a couple of hours with Garcia. He looked at his watch. It was barely nine in the morning.

Someone knocked again, a bit more forcefully this time so he went to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me Reid. Open the door."

He couldn't make his feet move or his hand turn the doorknob. What was she doing at his door this early on Christmas?

"Reid… Are you going to leave me standing here all day? Your neighbors will call the cops."

He opened the door with sweating hands and a thumping heart. "Hi Emily," he squeaked.

"I'm sorry to just barge in on you, but I knew if I gave you warning, you'd find an excuse for me not to come over here."

She held a tray with two cups of steaming coffee, which smelled better than the coffee he'd just brewed, and a bag in her hand.

"Come in." He stepped back to let her into his apartment.

"Love the room." She said going to the Christmas tree.

"Thanks…" He couldn't think of anything to say so he didn't talk.

Emily put the bag and the coffee on Reid's glass coffee table. "May I sit?" She asked with a smirk.

"Oh… ah yeah, please."

She sat down the edge of his black leather couch. "You can sit down Reid. It's your apartment."

"Right," He sat as far away from her as he could get.

"You know… It's strange. I woke up this morning with an overwhelming desire to see you." She said bluntly.

"You did…" He squeaked.

"Yeah… Then I went down to my tree and there was a box under the tree that I didn't recognize."

"Really?"

"Yes… I opened it and found an old charm bracelet my mother had given me when I was thirteen years old. I lost it years ago. You wouldn't know anything about that would you."

He dragged his eyes away from the coffee cups and looked at her. "I don't know what you mean."

"No, I suppose you don't, but it's strange. The bracelet reminds me of the last good year I had with my mom before I became a teenager and her career took over her life. It's just weird."

Reid didn't say anything because if he didn't talk he couldn't spill everything including the fact that he'd met Santa Claus. He didn't remember stopping at Emily's place during his trip with St. Nick. Of course, he'd never been inside Emily's brownstone so he didn't know what it looked like. Why hadn't Santa told him? Why hadn't he thought to ask?

"Reid… Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I just woke up an hour ago. My dad called me." He blurted out.

"He did?"

She slid closer to him and touched his hand.

"Yeah… I'm going to go out to Nevada if he can get me a flight. I want to see him and my mom before we have to go back to work."

"I'm glad. I hope you have a good time."

"Me too… It's been a couple of years since I've seen my dad."

"I really am glad for you. I hope you have a good visit."

He glanced over at her eyes again. "Emily?"

"Yes Reid."

"Why did you really come here?"

She got up and started to pace the room. "When I found the old charm bracelet it reminded me that I can't let someone important to me just drift away."

He swallowed hard because he'd hoped for this moment for so long.

Emily sat next to him and took his hand. "I like you Reid and not just as a member of our BAU dysfunctional family, but as someone I want to get to know on a very personal level."

"Um, well, so what happens now?" Reid asked, without squeaking this time.

"Well, the first thing we do is eat the muffins I brought with the coffee and then we'll see what happens next."

Reid picked up one of the coffee cups. "I think I like that plan." He told her.

**_THE END_**


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